Process of intaglio printing



Nov. 7, 1944. o. GREENSTEIN PROCESS OF INTAGLIO PRINTING Original Filed Ju ne 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTO.R Oscar Greens-(c 02- ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1944. 2 o. GREENSTEIN I 2,362,263

PROCESS OF INTAGLIO PRINTING Original Filed June '7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JOHN POE .1 pm DOE HIHIIIRZTM 48 4 I Z /2 4' MENTOR.

Oscar Grevzste/ja Patented Nov. 7, 1 944 PROCESS OF INTAGLIO PRINTING Oscar Greenstein, New York, N. Y.

Original application June 7, 1938, Serial No. 212,225. Divided and this application April 18, 1941, Serial No. 389,228

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing name markers and labels by intaglio printing and an intaglio plate for use in said process.

Heretofore, it was customary to employ woven name markers or-labels to designate the maker or the owner of various articles or clothing such as suits, coats, personal linen, and the like. These markers or labels were generally provided in the form of a band, tape or ribbon of a textile 1 to laundering, dry cleaning and to other colormaterial having a name or other matter indicated' thereon by means of a thread colored with fast dyes differently from the base and woven thereinto. These woven labels or markers were generally provided in the form of a long tape, band, or ribbon on which the desired text was periodically and spacedly repeated a number of times. In practicaluse, this band or ribbon was out into individual lengths each bearing the desired text and these individual lengths were attached to the article of clothing generally by sewing. Although these conventional markers and labels were satisfactory in use, they had the great disadvantage of being relativelyexpensive due to the rather complicated weaving process involved. Moreover, it was generally difficult to obtain these labels at a low price in small quantities as the manufacturing process was hardly profitable to the maker unless at least several hundreds or several'thousands of labels were ordered at a time. Thus, these conventional labels or markers were frequently beyond the reach of the small manufacturer, tailor or of the individual who desired woven laundry markers to be attached to his personal linen. This difiiculty was further accentuated by the circumstance that these prior woven marker or labels could not be otbained at a short notice but generally several days or even weeks were required before an order could be filled. Of course, this situation prevented a very large potential market from being materialized asit was impossible to provide the purchasing-public in department stores and specialty stores with markers bearing the owner's name, at the same time when the articles of clothing or of personal linen were purchased.

It has been already suggested to provide a plain or clear textile tape or ribbon and to provide the desired text on this tape or ribbon by means of printing. It was proposed to employ conventional typesetting for imprinting the desired text onto the tape or ribbon with printers ink. This had the grave disadvantage, however, that printing inks were altogether incapable of resisting destroying influences. In other words, name tapes prepared with conventional printers type Q on a printing machine-were practically useless after the article to which the name tape was attached was subjected to laundering or dry cleaning. Moreover, itwas also impossible to employ fast color dyes, similar to those used in the textile industry, since in printing with raised 'printers type, the printing ink or dye was deposited only on the surface of the type and this amount was insufficient for printing onto textile materials with a dye. Likewise, due to the absorbent character of most textile materials, it was very important to accurately control the amount of ink or dye which would go into the cloth, and, of course, this was impossible with conventional typesetting. Therefore, heretofore, when it was desired to print with fast colors or textile dyes onto a cloth, it was necessary to employ engraved rollers so that the depth of the engraving would control the amount or dye deposited on the fabric. This procedure, however, was prohibitive in cost. and could not be employed in the manufacture of name tapes.

It is also to be observed that it was extremely diflicult, if not impossible, to provide a clear and clean print on a textile tape which was attractive and which was acceptable to the public. More particularly, the tape would frequently be smudged and smeared with the printing ink at the beginning and at the'end of the printed text and blots were imprinted at the first ,and the last letter of the text. Moreover, special training and skill was required for properly handling and setting the typ ein accordance with the various texts with which the name markers or labels had to be printed, and also the type and typesetting would smudge and soil the fingers of the operator with printers ink. Although also various other suggestions and proposals were made to avoid these disadvantages and inconveniences, none, as far as I am aware, of these various suggestions and proposals was completely satisfactory and successful when carried into practice on a'practical and commercial scale.

I have discovered a simple and completely satisfactory solution of the outstanding problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an intaglio printing process which eliminates the disadvantages and inconveniences encoun to provide an intaglio printing process of novel and improved character which is adapted to produce fast color name markers and labels in large and in small quantities with equal efiiciency and speed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel intaglio printing process for the manufacture of fast color name markers and 1abels which dispenses with the expensive and slow weaving process and with the cumbersome and unattractive printing process employing typesetting, and which in contrast to the prior art meth: ods involves the use of an engraved intaglio plate of special character.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel and improved intaglio printing process involving a machine of a rotary character and printing names with fast colors onto a continuous tape, band or ribbon of a textile material with a specially engraved intaglio plate or master constituted of a single fiat piece of a flexible sheetlike material without leaving marks in between the names. I

The invention also contemplates an improved engraved intaglio plate of novel character which can be speedily and accurately madeby means of a conventional engraving machine without requiring specially trained operators.

It is also within the contemplation of the invention to provide an improved intaglio printing process for producing name markers and labels with fast colors which is simple in construction and to operate and which may be manufactured and sold at a low price.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment capable of carrying the present invention into practice taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which- 7 Fig. 1 illustrates a side elevational View having parts broken awayfor reasons of clarity, of an intaglio printing machine embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 depicts a side elevational detail View, somewhat fragmentary and having parts in section, of the machine shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 shows a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a transparent intaglio plate or master plate employed in the intaglio printing machine of the invention looking at it from thefront face thereof; and

Fig. 5 shows a portion of a ribbon or tape having a name provided thereon by means of the machine embodying the principles of the invention.

Broadly stated, according to the principles of my invention, I provide an intaglio plate constituted of a fiexible sheet-like material such as, for example, Celluloid. On this fiat intaglio plate, I engrave thename to be printed in reversed writing or mirror script. Hereafter, I tension this intaglio plate or master around a suitable curved intaglio surface and apply a suitable dye or coloring matter to the outer surface thereof by means of a color transfer roller or some other similar device. A doctor blade removes substantially all of the coloring matter from the surface of the intaglio plate except for the matter retained in the grooves of the engraved text which is not touched by the doctor of a pressure surface whereby the coloring matter contained in the grooves of the engraved text is transferred to the ribbon. At the same time, the ribbon is displaced by a predetermined length so that a new and unprinted portion of the tape or ribbon is moved into printing position. This displacement may be obtained directly by means of the cooperation and friction between the intaglio plate and the pressure plate or a separate winding or pulling device may be employed for example in the form of cooperating feed rollers for displacing the finished tape by a definite amount. I prefer to mount both the intaglio plate and the pressure plate in a rotatable position on a shaft so that the printing operation may be carried out in a continuous and rotary manner by rotation of the shafts of the intaglio plate and of the pressure plate which may be connected to each other by a pair of spur gears in order to obtain perfect synchronism of their operation. The finished tape or ribbon is allowed suflicient time to dry and is hereafter wound up on a reel in conventional manner.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. A heavy base plate l carries two pairs of vertical standards 2 and 3 which may be integrally formed with the base or may be mounted thereon by means of screws or bolts. An upper sliding block and a lower sliding block 4 and 5-is slideably mounted between each pair of vertical standards, each of said blocks carrying a bearing 6 and 1, respectively.

Shafts 8 and 9 are journaled in bearings B and i each having a spur gear I0 and I I, respectively, rigidly connected thereto which are meshing with each other in order to obtain simultaneous rotation of both shafts in opposite direction to each other when one of the shafts is driven. Spur gears Ill and II are pressed against each other with some pressure due to the slideable character of bearing blocks 4 and 5 between the vertical standards, the pressure being adjustable by means of a long threaded bolt l2 having a nut l3 mounted thereon and which can adjust. the pressure of helical spring l4 pressing bearing block 4 in the downward direction.

The intaglio printing mechanismessentially comprises an intaglio printing segment l5 keyed to shaft 59 and having a substantially cylindrical surface it in the major portion thereof while its ends are slightly closer tothe shaft in order to provide space for the clamping device of the printing plate. As it will be best observed from Fig. 4 of the drawings, the intaglio plate I? is provided in the form of a flexible band of some strength which may be constituted of any suitable material possessing the desired flexibility and strength and which may be readily engraved by means of conventional engraving machines.

Although various metals possess these properties, I foundthat a Celluloid plate of some thickness provides excellent results as it. is inexpensive, very strong and flexible and is, readily engraved. This intaglio plate bears the text l8 engraved therein in reversed or mirror script in order to give a positive and legible imprint upon the finished product. A pair of openings I9 and 20 are I provided in the intaglio plate atthe, ends thereof and may be engaged by suitable elements associated with the printing segment. Thus, one of these openings is hooked on a small pin or hook 2 l while the other is engaged b a hook 22 passed through a post 23 and having its straight extension engaged by a threaded sleeve 24 which is ference of surface l6 of the printing segment l5.

Of course, the intaglio plate may be readily exchanged .with' another plate bearing a different text by releasing hook 22 and removing the old plate from pin 2| and hook 22, whereby the new plate may be inserted without difficulty,

The intaglio. plate cooperates in the printing position with a pressure plate26 stretched over the surfaceof pressure segment 21 keyed to shaft 8 by means of screws 28. Pressure plate 26 serves for pressing the tape or ribbon to be printed onto against the surface of the intaglio plate provided with the coloring matter and is preferably constituted of a material having at least some resiliency such as strong fabric, rubber, or the like, in order to be capable of at least moderate yielding under pressure.

The color transfer mechanism comprises a trough 29 having a suitable fast intaglio printing color or dye therein which may be in the form of a liquid or paste. This coloring matter is transferred to the surface of the intaglio plate by means of a color transfer roller 30 which is rotatably mounted in a slot 3i provided in the side walls of the trough. The lower portion of the color transfer roller is submerged in the dye and the upper portion thereof periodically bears against the surface of the intaglio plate and provides the same with a fine and uniform coating of coloring matter. A doctor blade 32 is mounted on a pin'33 which is pivoted in an extension 34 of the vertical standards. A long arm 35 has one of its ends connected to pin 33 and has its other end under the pressure of a spring 36 whereby the free end of the doctor blade will bear with resilient pressure against the surface of the intaglio plate. The doctor blade will remove substantially all of the coloring matter from the surface of the intaglio plate so that only the coloring matter contained in the grooves of the engravedtext remains on the plate and is available for the intaglio printing process. A spout-like extension 31 of trough 29 serves for catching the drops of coloring matter which may accumulate on the doctor blade and may fall off.

The tape feeding mechanism comprises a reel 38 for the tape or ribbon to be printed onto and is rotatably mounted at the ends of a pair of arms 39 secured to the vertical standards of the machine. A plurality of rods 40 of substantially circular cross section is mounted in between arms 39 and tape or ribbon 4| issuing from reel 38 is led alternately above and below said stationary rods 'in order to provide a substantial friction between the tape and the rods andto permit maintaining the tape taut at all times by means of the rest of the tape feeding mechanism. Side plates 42 are mounted on rods 40 by means of screws 43 and serve as lateral guide plates for ,guiding the tape in'straight direction and are adjustable to tapes of varying width. After the tape passes through the set of rods 40, it is car ried around idle rollers 44, 45, and 46 to a reeling device 41 having a spring incorporated therein to wind up the finished tape. In view of the fact that this reeling device is of a conventional character and well known to those skilled in the art, its operation will be readily understood without any detailed description. Of the idling rollers, 44 is adjustably mounted at the end of lever 48 which is pivotally mounted on arm 49 secured to the vertical standards of the machine, and may be fixed in any position by means of a screw 50. Idle rollers or guide rollers 45 are mounted at the end of an armor rod 5! secured to the upper end. of standards 2 and guide roller 46 is resiliently held by means of a fiat spring The 52 associated with the reeling device 41. reeling device is carried by a strong plate 53 which is mounted on the upper ends of standards 2 and 3 by means of bolts 54.

The machine may be driven by any suitable motor but in most cases suificient speed of operation is obtained by means of a manual drive consisting of a pinion wheel 55 driven by means of a crank 56 and meshingwith a spur gear 51 keyed to shaft 9 whereby both the intaglio plate and the pressure plate will be caused to revolve around shafts 8 and 9 due to the engagement of spur gears I0 and H. A spring-held ratchet 58 prevents rotating the crank in the wrong direction, the various arrows indicating the direction of rotation of the various parts of the machine and that of the displacement of the tape.

From the preceding description, theoperation of my improved printing device will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The first step in the intaglio .printing operation is the preparation of the intaglio plate. This can be readily accomplished by means of any of the various engraving machines, care being taken to provide the engraving in a reverse direction or in mirror script in order to obtain a legible and positive script on the finished product. This intaglio plate or master is now tensioned on printing plate or segment l5 by means of pin 2| and hook 22, as it has been explained in the foregoing. Hereafter, the tape or ribbon to be printed onto is carried through tension rods 40 between the cooperating surfaces of the printing and pressure elements and along the various guide rollers 44, 45 and 46 to the reeling device 41, which will reel up the finished tape. After the machine has thus been prepared for the intaglio printing process, crank 56 is rotated in the direction of the arrow. Due to the cooperation of gears 55 and 51 meshing with each other,

thiswillcause rotation of shafts 8 and 9 and of the intaglio plate l1 and pressure plate 26. During this rotation of the shafts, tape 4| remains stationary as it is not engaged by either the intaglio plate or the pressure plate due to the segmentary character thereof. However, when during the rotation of these shafts the surface of the intaglio plate is engaged by the pressure plate, the tape therebetween will be also engaged .and will be pulled through the machine for a length of time determined by the time during which the intaglio plate is pressed against the pressure plate which is under the influence of spring l4. At the same time the coloring matter contained in the grooves of the engraved intaglio plate will be transferred to the tape. As it will be noted from the drawings, printing segment [5 has a greater curvature at both ends than in the center portions thereof where it is of a substantially circular character. This type of structure will make it possible to effect both the engagement and the disengagement 'of the intaglio plate and of the pressure plate in a smooth and shock-proof manner during the continuous rotation thereof. The finished tape is conducted to the reeling device by means of guide rollers 44, 45 and 46. Itwill be noted that the tape has its printed side towards the outside so that it has time to completely dry before reaching reeling device'fl'whereby smudging of the fresh print. is avoided. The appearance of. the finished product will appear from Fig. 5. As it will be observed from Fig. 5, tape 4| bears a name or other text 58 at regularly spaced intervals. This tape may be cut into individual lengths bearing the text and these. lengths may be sewed to. the garment tobe marked in conventional manner. -In view of the fact that fasttextile colors or dyes are employed in the process of the invention, the name tapes may be subjected to repeated laundering or dry cleaning without any detrimental effects.

It will be noted that the present invention provides various important advantages. First of all, the invention provides a simple and highly efficient. device for the manufacture of fast color name markers and labels which avoids the high cost and loss of time connected with the manufacture of conventional woven labels.

It is also to be observed that the device of the invention dispenses with the conventional typesetting heretofore employed in the manufacture of conventional printed labels and incapable of using fast colors, and employsa special intaglio plate constituted of a flexible and sheet-like material on which the text to be printed onto the tape or ribbon is engraved by means of a conventional engraving machine.

, Moreover, the device of the invention provides an attractive and commercially desirable and fastcolor product free from the unsightly appearance of prior printed name markers or labels, at a low price.

Furthermore, the complete equipment for the manufacture of my novel and improved fast color name markers and labels is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture andto operate. The intaglioplates of the invention may be engraved with any text in a few minutes by means of a conventional engraving machine. Thus, in view of the extreme simplicity of my intaglio printing device and equipment it is possible to provide the public with fast color namemarkers, laundry marks, and labels at a veryshort notice andat low price.

Likewise, the present invention also provides a novel intaglio printing process for the manufacture of nametapes bearing characters in fast textile colors and dyes which are unaffected by laundering anddry cleaning and which are in every way equivalent or even superior to conventional woven name tapes.

The present application is a division of my copending application, SerialNo. 212,225, filed June 7, 1938, patented April 22, 1941, No. 2,238,898.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the present invention. I consider all of these variations and modifications as within the true spirit and scope of the present invention as disclosed in the present description and defined by the appended claim,

I claim:

A process for intermittently printing on absorbent textile material in a continuous manner with colorfast to laundering and dry cleaning which comprises providing a normally flat flexible intaglio plate of plastic material bearing engraved mirror-script matter to be reproduced, flexing said normally fiat plate longitudinally to provide areas of dissimilar curvature including an arcuate section substantially in the center of said plate having a unit radius of curvature and bearing-said engraved matter and end portions having radii of curvature substantially less than said unit radius, maintaining the aforesaid areas of dissimilar curvature, applying color fast to laundering and dry cleaning to said plate, removing excess color to leave a controlled amount of color solely in the engraved portions of said plate,'engaging ,a strip of absorbent textile material in rolling contact solelywith the center portion of said plate to transfer said color thereto and tomove said textile material a predetermined. distance whereby smudging of the reproduced matter is avoided and absorbent textile material strip is provided with isolated groups of printed texts in a continuous manner.

OSCAR GREENSTEIN. 

